


Cloudy With a Chance of Happiness

by WarlockWriter



Series: Rain [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gabriel Monthly Challenge June 2018, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 14:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14917079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarlockWriter/pseuds/WarlockWriter
Summary: You've been attracted to Gabriel for some time now but were worried he wouldn't accept you being Trans. Fortunately, Sam was there to nudge you in the right direction.





	Cloudy With a Chance of Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> Submitted for the June 2018 Gabriel Monthly Challenge
> 
> Challenge Prompts:  
> Dialogue- “Sooo… you come here of– no, that’s such a bad line, give me a minute.”  
> Statement: The air around him felt freer here, somehow.  
> General Request for Male Reader
> 
> Many thanks to @RevWinchester for the beta. This is my first Reader fic, and I was grateful to have an expert look it over first.

Everyone was gathered at Pooches, the nearest bar to the Bunker, after an all-hands hunt cleaning up a nearby town overrun by ghouls.

Dean and Cas were hustling pool. Cas' "confused, naive face"--a total act, but the marks hadn't caught on yet--was allowing them to clean up. Sam was talking to some of the bar patrons. Gabriel, however, was at the far end of the bar, alone, nursing a cheap bourbon, not looking at anyone.

You watched him, trying to find the courage to go talk to him. Sam had explained some of what had happened to Gabriel, and you were still trying to process it all. Faked death. Torture by Asmodeus. And now a member of Team Free Will. It had taken you long enough to get your head around Cas, but now an archangel? Even a de-powered one? Who were you to think you had a chance at that?

So, you sat at the other end of the bar, alone, nursing a beer, trying not to get caught eyeing Gabriel.

Of course, Sam caught you at it. "Just go up and say something to him already. Even Cas is starting to notice your pining looks."

You glanced over your shoulder at the pool game. Cas was lining up his next shot. "I call BS on that, Winchester."

Sam laughed. "Okay, but give him another few minutes. He'd notice eventually. Seriously, though, go talk to him. You did just shoot a ghoul that was trying to gnaw off his foot."

"Sure, a gratitude pity chat. Not my thing."

Sam placed a hand on your shoulder. It was warm and reassuring. "Look, you know what he's been up against. I don't think you have to worry about pity from him."

You looked back down the long counter top. The warm bar light was bringing out the honey-brown highlights in Gabriel's hair.

"But he doesn't know what I am."

Sam shrugged. "Really doubt he's gonna care. You know you'll never forgive yourself if you don't at least give it a try."

Darn Winchester was right, of course. It's not like you haven't done this dance before. But mostly those were casual hookups in bars where your lack of expected equipment wouldn't come as a shock. And if it did, you just moved on to the next one to scratch the itch.

This, however, was more than scratching an itch. You were pretty sure you could fall for him. And that changed the equation completely.

Sam engulfed you in a warm, one-armed hug. "You're overthinking it." He gave you a little push.

"All right," you said. "Nothing ventured and all that."

You got off the stool, grabbing your beer and downing half of it in one long swallow. Liquid courage, although you were pretty sure most of the time people were referring to something stronger.

You walked the length of the bar, your boots feeling heavier with each step. However, you kept on going and finally got there. He didn't look up, which somehow made it easier to settle on the stool beside him.

You desperately tried to think of something to say. Something suave and seductive, but not too seductive.

And of course what came out was “Sooo… you come here of–

Oh, God. Seriously? Did you really just say that?

And naturally, that's when he decided to look up. Blushing furiously, you said, "No, that’s such a bad line, give me a minute.”

A hint of a smile played around his mouth and he looked back at his drink. Great, you shoved your foot so far in your mouth it might get lost, and he was gentleman enough to give you space to recover.

A moment later, thoughts somewhat organized, you tried again. Motioning to his glass, which was barely touched, you said, "Pretty sure that drink didn't do anything dire enough to deserve the look you were giving it."

Gabriel glanced up again, reflected light causing his eyes to gleam gold. "Actually, I think it has. It's pretty bad."

"Can I order you something better?" Drinks seemed like a safe topic.

He shook his head. "No. Don't really want to get drunk. Just needed something to occupy my hands."

You had two options here: there was what you wanted to say in response to that and what you probably should say. Since you couldn't think of anything that fell in the second category, you said nothing.

His attention went back to his drink, but he added, "Nice job with that ghoul. Thanks for that."

"You're welcome."

And there went the conversation. Drinks and ghouls: 1. You: 0.

You didn't move, though.

A moment later, he eyed you with a half head tilt. "It's kind of hot in here. Want to go outside for a bit?"

Wait? What? Did that really just happen? "Uh, sure," you said.

He stood up, leaving his drink behind. You followed him, leaving your beer behind as well but wishing you didn’t have to. Having something to occupy your hands would be nice.

Sam caught your eye from across the room, and gave you a big thumbs up. You gave him a smile back, but you were pretty sure it looked as weak as it felt.

Gabriel opened the door and held it for you. As soon as it closed, you realized how loud it had been inside. Out here, the only sounds were distant traffic and the summer song of crickets. He led you to a picnic table which incongruously squatted across the parking lot, under one of the saddest trees you'd ever seen, even in the middle of Kansas.

He sat down and ran his finger along the rough wood of the table. You debated sitting down across from him or beside him, but it looked like someone had thrown up on the bench on the other side. That decided it. Beside him it would be.

Neither of you spoke for some time. Finally, he said, "So, I suppose Sam's told you who I am."

"Yeah. He gave me the highlights."

"And you're still willing to come out here with me?" His voice was heavy with defeat.

"Sure, why wouldn't I?" you said.

"I'm pretty much a screw up. Barely enough juice to smite a ghoul. Much less do anything else worthwhile."

You took a deep breath and put your hand on his shoulder. "I don't know all the details, but Sam told me bits of it. Look, I get what you've been through, at least a little bit. I've got my own fucked up past to deal with, and I can say this. It will get better. Eventually."

He gave a little snort of derision. "Yeah, that's what they say, but I'm not seeing it yet."

You thought for a moment, trying to come up with something that might resonate with him. Finally, it came to you. "Look, when you were a Trickster, did you ever go back to check in on the victims of the people you punished?"

He looked up from his glass. "Yeah? Why?"

"Did they seem better after time had passed?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I guess they did, yes."

You smiled. "That's how it works. You're a mess for a while, and then, slowly, it gets better."

His shoulders lost their hunched-over posture, and he looked freer, somehow. As if the very air around him had lightened. "Thanks. That actually helped a lot."

You smiled. Finally, you had found the right note for this conversation. You have no idea where this might go, but at least you made him happier for a few minutes.

As if following your thoughts, he said, "Uh. This may not be the right time, exactly, but...could we maybe...another time--"

He trailed off, but you knew what he was saying, or you were pretty sure you did. This was the moment of truth. To tell him or not? Lead him on, have fun for a while and maybe crash later, or man up now?

He was looking at you, head tilted. "Something wrong? Did I come across too strong? Too fast?"

Oh shit. Now he thought it was him.

Quickly, before you could get cold feet about it, you said, "No, it's not that. I was hoping you'd say that. It's just...there's something you might want to know about me first. Something kind of important."

He nodded, encouragement in his golden eyes. Oh, this was going to be so hard if he rejected you. You flashed back to Sam's thumbs up. You can do this, man. You really can.

"You may have noticed that I'm kind of short."

He huffed out a laugh and indicated his own body. "Like I'm a giant like the Winchesters or my brother?"

You knew you should have smiled at that, but you just couldn't. Not until you'd gotten through this. "Well, no. Actually, your height is one of the things I like about you."

His smile lit up the night, and you wished there was some way to tell him that he wasn't making this easier.

Continuing, you said, "Well, I'm so short because I wasn't born male. I'm a gay trans man." There. You said it. Now for the rest before this all blew up. "I don't have the equipment you might be expecting. Anyway, I wanted you to know that before things got any further."

His smile hadn't faded. It just became softer, fonder. That was a good thing, right?

"You were worried about that?"

"Well, yeah. Kinda. It's a turn off for some guys."

He reached out and ran a gentle finger down your cheek. It felt so good. "Not an issue for me. Angel, remember. Not like gender really matters."

Relief ran over you like a warm rain in summer.

"Although," he continued. "Don't take this the wrong way, but..." He lifted one hand, fingers together in a pre-snap position. "I don't have a lot of juice, but I think I have enough to..."

You stopped the laugh that threatened to bubble up through you. Cas had made the same offer weeks ago. Angels! "Uh, no thanks. I mean, it's an awfully generous offer, but I like who I am. Not gonna deny that it would have been nicer to have born with the right stuff, but I've made my peace with who I am."

He lowered his hand. "Good, because I think I like you just the way you are." He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to your lips. It only lasted a few seconds but held so much promise.

"That good?" he asked when he pulled back.

You could only nod.

"Okay." He reached for your hand, and you gave it to him. "Like I said, now isn't the right time for this, but later definitely would be. For now, let's head back inside. I want to spend some time with my whole family."

His warm gaze made it clear he included you in that.

You smiled and stood up. "That sounds good. Sam'll want to know how it all turned out."

He raised an eyebrow. "What'll you tell him?"

You thought for a moment and finally said, "Cloudy with a chance of happiness."

That brilliant smile spread over his face again. "That sounds about right."

And with that you and he walked back into the bar.


End file.
